See 16 Actors You Forgot Guest Starred on “Twin Peaks”
See 16 Actors You Forgot Guest Starred on “Twin Peaks”
Drew Mackie, James MercadanteSat, April 11, 2026 at 11:30 AM UTC
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From left: David Duchovny as DEA Agent Denise Bryson on 'Twin Peaks'; Molly Shannon as Judy Swain on 'Twin Peaks'; Amanda Seyfried as Rebecca 'Becky' Burnett on 'Twin Peaks: The Return'Credit: Paramount+ -
Twin Peaks premiered on ABC on April 8, 1990
The crime drama was co-created by Mark Frost and the late David Lynch
Famous faces who guest-starred on Twin Peaks include David Duchovny, Michael Cera, Molly Shannon and Amanda Seyfried
Twin Peaks saw several guest stars venturing to the fictional logging town in Washington — a few for more than a damn fine cup of coffee.
Co-created by Mark Frost and the late David Lynch, the genre-bending crime drama premiered on April 8, 1990. The series followed Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) as he worked to uncover who killed teenager Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee).
The show won two Emmys, three Golden Globes and a Peabody Award, and it forever changed TV with its unique surrealist tone and cinematic storytelling.
While Twin Peaks featured an ensemble cast, including MacLachlan, Dana Ashbrook, Richard Beymer, Mädchen Amick, Piper Laurie and more, it also welcomed some now-famous faces in minor roles or brief cameos across its original run and 2017 Showtime revival series.
In honor of Twin Peaks' 36th anniversary, let's give ourselves a present and revisit the many actors who passed through the small northwestern town.
Willie Garson
Willie Garson (center) as an unnamed heavy metal roadie on 'Twin Peaks'Credit: Paramount+
Before he starred on Sex and the City as Stanford Blatch, Carrie Bradshaw's (Sarah Jessica Parker) loyal confidant, Willie Garson appeared on a season 2 episode of Twin Peaks as an unnamed heavy metal roadie.
During his scene, he recounted to Agent Cooper how his bandmate Rusty Tomasky (Ted Raimi) followed Windom Earle (Kenneth Welsh) into the woods before he was murdered.
Garson died of pancreatic cancer in September 2021. He was 57.
David Duchovny
David Duchovny as DEA Agent Denise Bryson on 'Twin Peaks'Credit: Paramount+
David Duchovny was perhaps the most famous among the guest actors to appear on Twin Peaks, preceding his iconic turn as FBI agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files with a memorable stint as transgender DEA agent Denise Bryson on season 2.
Duchovny reprised the role for the 2017 revival season, in which Denise had become the FBI's Chief of Staff.
Heather Graham
Heather Graham as Annie Blackburn on 'Twin Peaks'Credit: Paramount+
If you're one of those with hazy memories of Twin Peaks' back half, you might forget that Heather Graham played Annie Blackburn, the little sister of Peggy Lipton's Norma, on season 2.
However, that's her in her pre-Boogie Nights (1997) glory, with a magnificent mane of moussed hair in her first major role after License to Drive (1988).
Graham even appeared in the 1992 prequel movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, while most of the series actors did not.
Billy Zane
Billy Zane as John Justice 'Jack' Wheeler on 'Twin Peaks'Credit: Paramount+
Audrey Horne (Sherilyn Fenn) fell hard for Agent Cooper — but then Billy Zane's dashing John Justice "Jack" Wheeler rolled into town during season 2, and Audrey suddenly only had eyes for him.
Before Twin Peaks, Zane appeared in the first two Back to the Future films in 1985 and 1989, respectively, and starred in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm. He would become best known for playing the villainous Caledon "Cal" Hockley in 1997's Titanic.
Robyn Lively
Robyn Lively as Lana Budding Milford on 'Twin Peaks'Credit: Paramount+
During season 2, Twin Peaks introduced Lana Milford (née Budding), a beautiful woman who the men in town find irresistible, even though there's no shortage of drop-dead gorgeous women around.
Actress Robyn Lively — of Teen Witch (1989) fame and Blake Lively's half-sister — portrayed Lana.
Molly Shannon
Molly Shannon as Judy Swain on 'Twin Peaks'Credit: Paramount+
Before joining the cast of Saturday Night Live in 1995, Molly Shannon played more restrained roles. One of those was an appearance on season 2 of Twin Peaks.
She played Judy Swain, the case manager for Nicholas "Nicky" Needleman (Joshua Harris), an orphan who may or may not be evil. Judy wasn't a standout character, which was too bad, because that ebullient Mary Katherine Gallagher energy would have been right at home on Twin Peaks.
Brenda Strong
Brenda Strong as Jones on 'Twin Peaks'Credit: Paramount+
Brenda Strong is most known for her roles on the Dallas reboot as Ann Ewing and on Seinfeld as Elaine's (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) nemesis, Sue Ellen Mischke. However, on season 2 of Twin Peaks, the actress played Miss Jones, the right-hand woman for one of the series' heavies, Thomas Eckhardt (the late David Warner).
Strong would go on to play Mary Alice Young on Desperate Housewives. The role was originally given to Lee, who portrayed Laura Palmer on Twin Peaks. Coincidentally, both Laura and Mary Alice are characters who are dead for the entire series.
Alicia Witt
Alicia Witt as Gersten Hayward on 'Twin Peaks'Credit: Paramount+
Most Twin Peaks episodes end with "Laura Palmer's Theme" played over a photo of Laura as prom queen. However, the second season premiere closes out with footage of Alicia Witt playing piano.
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During the episode, Witt played Gersten Hayward, the younger sister of Donna (Lara Flynn Boyle).
Witt had previously appeared in Lynch's 1984 adaptation of Dune. She would later play the titular character's daughter on Cybill, have recurring roles on shows like Justified and Friday Night Lights and appear on two episodes of the Showtime limited series Twin Peaks: The Return.
Michael Parks
Michael Parks as Jean Renault and Galyn Görg as Nancy on 'Twin Peaks'Credit: Paramount+
Before he became a Quentin Tarantino regular, appearing in Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) and 2 (2004), Grindhouse (2007) and Django Unchained (2012), Michael Parks was on season 2 of Twin Peaks playing Jean Renault, a drug-running crime boss and the meanest French Canadian in the history of American TV.
Parks died at age 77 in May 2017, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Frances Bay
Frances Bay as Mrs. Tremond on 'Twin Peaks'Credit: Paramount+
Never forget how terrifying the late Frances Bay once made creamed corn seem. Beyond her season 2 appearance, she was probably best known for playing Adam Sandler's grandmother in 1996's Happy Gilmore or the marble rye lady from Seinfeld.
However, on one Twin Peaks episode (and Fire Walk with Me as well), Bay played enigmatic granny Mrs. Tremond, who showed up with her creepy grandson (played by Lynch's son Austin Jack Lynch) to screw with the heads of the town's residents.
Bay worked on multiple Lynch projects, including Blue Velvet (1986) and Wild at Heart (1990). She died at age 92 in September 2011, per the Los Angeles Times.
Matthew Lillard
Matthew Lillard as William Hastings on 'Twin Peaks: The Return'Credit: Paramount+
Known for his roles in the Scream and Scooby-Doo film franchises, Matthew Lillard had a four-episode stint on Twin Peaks: The Return as William Hastings, a high school principal with a blog dedicated to alternate dimensions and paranormal activity.
He and his mistress — Ruth Davenport (Mary Stofle, Lynch's then-sister-in-law), who is eventually found decapitated in her apartment — get caught in the crossfire between Dale Cooper's doppelgänger and the long-missing Major Garland Briggs (Don S. Davis).
Lillard returned to the Scream world for Scream 7 in 2026. He appeared in 2023's Five Nights at Freddy's and its 2025 sequel.
Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd as Beverly Paige on 'Twin Peaks: The Return'Credit: Paramount+
After scoring credits for films like Kiss the Girls (1997), Double Jeopardy (1999), Someone Like You (2001) and Divergent (2014), Ashley Judd joined The Return as Beverly Paige, a secretary at the Great Northern Hotel.
At home, she tended to her ailing husband (Hugh Dillon), while at work she flirted with hotel owner Benjamin Horne (Beymer).
Amanda Seyfried
Amanda Seyfried as Rebecca 'Becky' Burnett on 'Twin Peaks: The Return'Credit: Paramount+
Before winning an Emmy for her performance as Elizabeth Holmes in Hulu's The Dropout, Amanda Seyfried appeared on The Return as Becky Burnett, the troubled daughter of Bobby (Ashbrook) and Shelly Briggs (Amick).
Upon discovering that her abusive husband (Caleb Landry Jones) had been unfaithful, Becky drove off with her parents' car and shot at the door of his mistress' apartment.
Monica Bellucci
David Lynch as FBI Deputy Director Gordon Cole and Monica Bellucci as herself on 'Twin Peaks: The Return'Credit: Paramount+
On The Return, FBI Deputy Director Gordon Cole (Lynch) recounted a dream in which Italian actress Monica Bellucci appeared as herself.
In the vision, she invited him to a café in Paris, where she quoted: "We are like the dreamer who dreams, and then lives inside the dream," before asking, "But who is the dreamer?"
Bellucci then gestured for Gordon to look behind him — and he saw a flashback from 1989, the day Agent Phillip Jeffries (David Bowie) appeared at the FBI headquarters and delivered significant information.
Michael Cera
From left: Harry Goaz as Deputy Andy Brennan, Michael Cera as Wally Brando and Kimmy Robertson as Lucy Brennan on 'Twin Peaks: The Return'Credit: Paramount+
Already known for his work in films like Superbad (2007), Juno (2009) and Scott Pilgrim vs the World (2010), Cera made a cameo on The Return as Wally Brando, Andy (Harry Goaz) and Lucy Brennan's (Kimmy Robertson) son, who can do a great Marlon Brando impression.
Cera's projects after Twin Peaks' third season included the TV show Life & Beth and films like Barbie (2023), The Phoenician Scheme (2025) and The Running Man (2025).
Sky Ferreira
Sky Ferreira as Ella on 'Twin Peaks: The Return'Credit: Paramount+
Sky Ferreira popped up in an episode of The Return as Ella, a former fast food employee who tells her friend Chloe (Karolina Wydra) that she was fired after being caught showing up to work while high.
The "Everything Is Embarrassing" singer, who also starred in 2017's Baby Driver, later appeared in 18 & Over (2022) and Reptile (2023) and on a 2020 episode of The Twilight Zone.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
